Checkmate
by CarefulWithThatMic
Summary: Sergei Mishnev is playing hardball with Gibbs, and now the people that are closest to him are in danger. Ziva finds out about it when Gibbs calls her, and returns the US to protect her family and help bring Sergei down. Spoilers for 'Check'. TIVA. Rated T for language and violence. Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own NCIS...**

**Checkmate**

**Chapter 1**

"Checkmate," Gibbs growled as he wrapped his hands around Sergei Mishnev's throat and squeezed as hard as he could. Blood was seeping out of Sergei's mouth from the merciless pistol whipping that Gibbs delivered before he began to strangle him. At that moment, when Sergei's eyes became wide with fear and his face turned bright red from the lack of circulation, Gibbs could not see or hear anything else but the man dying by his hands. This is what Sergei deserved after what he'd done. Gibbs was going to look this bastard right in the eyes as he killed him, and he knew he'd sleep soundly that night as a result.

Gibbs suddenly opened his eyes, and found himself lying on the floor with a screaming headache. He heard Tony calling to him gently, "Boss? Boss, can you hear me?"

"Ow," Gibbs rasped as he sat up and rested his forearms on his knees. He felt the blood drying on the back of his neck, and knew now that someone had struck him from behind as he strangled Mishnev. Tony was kneeling in front of him and McGee was standing a few feet behind him.

"Sergei?" Gibbs asked, leaning forward some more and trying to stop the room from spinning.

"He got away. Thanks for waiting for us." Tony replied, a mixture of annoyance and relief in his voice. Gibbs sighed and his head fell forward.

"Boss, you ok?" Tim asked. He hated seeing Gibbs like this.

"No," Gibbs replied curtly. He sure as hell wasn't ok. Diane's blood was still splattered all over the side of his face, and Mishnev was gone again.

"Neither are we," Bishop said as she walked back into the room, "They've got blueprints for dozens of US military installations all over the place in there. It looks like they tried to take 'em, but they left most of them behind."

"Well that's good," Tim spoke up, "That means whatever they were planning, we stopped it."

Gibbs briefly looked up at his agents before his eyes dropped and began wildly scanning the floor in front of him. His brain tried and failed to understand how everything got shot to hell so quickly. Tony continued to kneel in front of him, a mixture of tenderness, compassion and concern on his face. He could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Gibbs in this kind of state, and each time was more difficult to deal with than the last. Tony loved Gibbs as much as, if not more, than his own father. He silently vowed to stick to Gibbs like glue for at least the rest of the afternoon. Every man had a breaking point, and Gibbs was no exception to this rule. The room became quiet as everyone looked at Gibbs, concerned. The silence was quickly broken, however, by the sound of a phone ringing.

Gibbs fished his phone out of his pocket, and flipped it open to check the caller ID. It was Fornell. He sighed deeply and reluctantly pushed the button to answer the call.

"Tobias," Gibbs said gruffly.

"Jethro, what's up? Heard you called for me?"

"Meet me at your place in fifteen minutes."

"Why? Gibbs, what's going on?"

"Don't argue with me and just do it." Gibbs replied before snapping his phone shut. He dropped it on the floor in front of him and buried his face in his hands. A minute later he lifted his head again to see that McGee and Bishop had left the room, and Tony was now standing in front of him with his hand extended. Gibbs accepted the offer for help, and Tony pulled him to his feet and steadied him until he knew that he wasn't going to fall over.

"We'll get this bastard, Gibbs." Tony vowed quietly. He picked up Gibbs' phone off of the floor, handed it back to him and walked him out of the apartment. They passed McGee and Bishop on the way out. "Finish up here," Tony said to them quietly, knowing that Gibbs' head was pounding, "And call me when you get back to headquarters."

"You got it, Tony." McGee said, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"Give me your keys." Tony said to Gibbs once they got out to the car.

"What? No."

Tony shot him a look. "Gibbs. You were just knocked unconscious. You've had one small cup of coffee in two days, and have been dealing with two ex wives... one of whom is now lying in autopsy and whose blood is still splattered all over the side of your face. You're in no condition to drive anywhere, so just give me the damn keys."

"I said no, DiNozzo," Gibbs said firmly. "I have to go see Fornell and tell him that the mother of his 13 year old daughter was just murdered. Don't think he'll appreciate an audience."

"Then I'll wait in the car," Tony replied in a hard voice.

Gibbs glared at his Senior Field Agent a moment before finally relenting and handing the keys over. Tony could be just as stubborn as him, and Gibbs knew this was one of those times that he would not take no for an answer. He opened the passenger side door and got in, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Boss," Tony said quietly as he drove.

"Yeah. Me too."

They got to house before Fornell got there. Tony parked across the street and stayed in the car, while Gibbs sat on the front porch and waited for him to arrive. After a few minutes his car pulled up and Fornell got out, looking frazzled. He brushed past Gibbs to unlock the door and let him in, chattering about the latest threat assessment meeting.

Gibbs stood silently in the living room, and Tobias finally turned and saw the look on his face. "Gibbs? What is it?"

"Tobias..." Gibbs began, but Fornell cut him off quickly after seeing the side of his face.

"Jesus, Jethro, you're covered in blood! What the hell happened?! Whose blood is that?!" He asked, and Gibbs could hear the panic rising in his voice.

"Tobias... It's Diane's," Gibbs said with a sigh, and the color drained from Fornell's face.

"Diane's? What? No..."

"I'm sorry, Tobias," Gibbs said quietly.

"No, no, no..." He replied, shaking his head, "You're joking. Please, tell me you're joking."

"You know I would never joke about anything like this."

"My God..." Fornell said before falling into the closest chair. "What... Why... Gibbs, how the fuck did this happen?!"

"Sergei Mishnev. I did something to piss him off, and now he's looking for payback. Diane was helping us with a case, pulling some tax records. Sergei found out that she was helping and sent her a bogus text message from me saying to meet me on top of a parking garage. I got a bogus phone call from her saying to meet in the same place. I tried to get her out of there, Tobias," Gibbs said, shaking his head, struggling to find the right words, "I tried to protect her... He sniped her from the building across the street."

"But why... Gibbs, I don't understand, why her?!"

Gibbs sighed again and continued speaking quietly. "Because he wants me to suffer. He's recreating deaths from my past... the painful ones. First he recreated Jenny's death. Then Mike Frank's. Then Kate's with Diane."

"Wanted YOU to suffer?! We have a 13 year old daughter, for Christ's sake! Emily is going to be the one who suffers from this!" Just as two tears slid down Fornell's cheeks, the front door opened.

"Dad! I'm home!" Emily called from the hallway. Tobias jumped out of his chair and walked over to meet her as she walked into the living room. He immediately wrapped her up in his arms. "Oh, Emily... my baby... My sweet little angel..."

"Dad, what is it? Why are you crying?" Tobias took a deep breath but didn't answer and continued to hug her tightly. She looked up and saw Gibbs with tears in his eyes and blood all over his face. "Uncle Gibbs? Why do you have blood all over you? What happened? Daddy?..."

Tobias cleared his throat and pulled away enough to look into her eyes. "Emily... sweetheart... It's mom."

"Mom? What? No..."

"I'm so sorry, baby."

She pulled away from him roughly and started screaming. "No! That's a lie! Liar! Why would you lie about that?! Uncle Gibbs, why is he lying like that?"

"I wish he was lying, Em. I'm sorry, sweetie. Mom's gone."

Emily collapsed into a heap on the floor and started to sob. Tobias knelt down and held his daughter while she cried. "Who did this?" She asked angrily, her tears flowing freely. "It was a bad guy, wasn't it? It was a bad guy and he's still out there."

"Yeah," Gibbs confirmed quietly as he knelt down next to them, "It was a bad guy."

She looked down at the floor and cried with her father a few more minutes, before looking back up at Gibbs. When she looked up, Gibbs noticed that the sadness in her eyes had been replaced by rage. "Uncle Gibbs... Daddy..."

"Yes, angel?" Fornell answered quietly.

"You find him! Find whoever did this!... I need you both to promise me something."

"Anything, sweetie."

"Promise me that you'll find this asshole... and when you do find him... Promise me that you'll kill him."

"He's already dead," Gibbs answered, "he just doesn't know it yet."

"No! Promise me! Both of you!"

"I promise, Em. He will die for this." Gibbs answered without hesitation.

"And I promise, too. I will not rest until this man is six feet under. I swear to God, Emily. I will make him pay for this."

Tony waited patiently in the car, knowing that after today, life in the Fornell household would never be the same. After about an hour, Gibbs finally came out of the house and got back into the car.

"How did it go?" Tony asked after he started driving again.

"How do ya think it went, DiNozzo?" Tony did not reply. "Take me home. Go back to the office, brief Vance when he gets back, then you, McGee and Bishop leave together, pack a bag and some pillows and go back to the office. No one goes off on their own. No one returns home until this psycho is in autopsy. I'll meet you back at headquarters in the morning."

"Do you think that's wise, Boss? Staying by yourself?"

"He doesn't want to kill me. If he did, I would be dead on that roof instead of Diane. He wants me to suffer, so he's going after my people. I'll be fine. Watch each other's backs and I'll see you guys in the morning."

Tony nodded and before long was pulling up to Gibbs house. "Call if you need anything, Boss." He said as Gibbs got out of the car.

Gibbs went inside, locked all of the doors, made sure the house was clear and then went right down to the basement. He emptied a mason jar and poured himself a generous amount of bourbon before sitting down at his workbench. He let his mind wander, and suddenly found himself thinking of Ziva. His little lost sheep. He picked up his phone and flipped the cover open and closed a few times before dialing a number and holding it to his ear. After a few rings, the call was answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ziver."

"Gibbs! What's wrong?" Ziva asked, her instinct immediately telling her that something was not right.

"Had better days, kid. How are you?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep the conversation light. He didn't call her to worry or burden her; he just needed to hear her voice, to know that she was ok.

"I am fine, Abba, but I can tell from your voice that you are not. What happened?"

Gibbs sighed and began quietly speaking into the phone. "Diane was murdered today."

"Your ex wife, Diane?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah. It was a set up." Gibbs then told her everything that happened, and by the time he finished he could hear her pacing back and forth.

"Who did this, Abba? Who is trying to make you suffer?" She asked in a deadly, quiet tone.

"His name is Sergei Mishnev. He's..." Gibbs did not get a chance to finish his thought.

"Did you say Sergei Mishnev?"

"Yeah, you heard of him?"

"Yes... Gibbs... Sergei was Ari's best friend. They were like brothers. That's why he is doing this. He thinks you killed Ari, so now he is trying to make you suffer as much as he suffered when Ari died."

Gibbs took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. Things were making a lot more sense, now.

"I am coming, Abba," Ziva said.

"Ziver... No."

"Yes," Ziva replied stubbornly. "I killed Ari! Me! Not you! I should be the one who suffers for this."

"No, Ziva. No one should suffer for this. Ari was a bad guy. He needed to die, you know that."

"I am coming, Abba," Ziva said again. "We will stop this man. I will stop him."

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Glad you guys are enjoying this! Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 2**

Tony met McGee and Bishop back at NCIS. They briefed Director Vance, then, together with Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy, left in two cars and went together to collect their things and prepare for a possibly extended stay at headquarters.

They all found spots on the floor of the bullpen to bed down, and when Gibbs arrived at 0500 the next morning with a tray of coffees in each hand, he was relieved to see everyone safe and asleep. He set the coffee on his desk, went over to Abby, adjusted her blanket and kissed her forehead. He made sure everyone else was still asleep and comfortable before sitting at his desk and turning on his computer. He sipped his coffee and became lost in thought. A half hour later, he was startled by the bell of the elevator. He looked up and saw Tobias and Emily walk in, looking sad and exhausted.

"You two are up awfully early," Gibbs said quietly.

"Couldn't sleep," Fornell replied. "Is she?..."

"Downstairs. I'll wake up Ducky. He'll take you down."

Gibbs gently shook Ducky awake, helped him up and handed him a coffee. "Tobias is here, Duck."

"Ah, indeed. Agent Fornell, Miss Emily, I am so sorry for your loss."

"Thanks, Ducky," Fornell replied. Emily remained standing where she was, her arms folded in front of her and not saying a word. Ducky and Fornell left the bullpen to go down to autopsy, and Gibbs sat back down at his desk. He watched Emily silently for a few minutes. She simply stood where she was, starting at a spot on the floor silently.

"Emmy," Gibbs said quietly, using the nickname he gave her when she was little. She finally looked up when he called her, and two tears rolled down her cheeks. Gibbs opened his arms, and she walked over to him, fell onto his lap, and buried her face in his shoulder to cry.

"It's not fair, Uncle Gibbs," she sobbed as he wrapped his strong arms around her.

"I know, baby," Gibbs whispered as he rocked her gently, "But it's gonna be ok. Yeah, everything's gonna be alright." He soothed.

Even after her tears stopped, she remained on Gibbs lap, clinging to him like she would lose him if she let go. When Tobias finally came back into the bullpen, Gibbs kissed her head and gave her a squeeze before she got up and walked over to her father. Tobias pulled her into his arms.

"How does she look, daddy? Is she all... messed up?"

"No, no sweetie." Tobias said quickly, trying to chase the ugly thoughts from his daughter's mind. "She's as beautiful as she always was. You'll see her at the viewing."

"Where are you off to this morning?" Gibbs asked, standing up to stretch.

"Taking Emily to a safe house until this is over. I'm not taking any chances." Fornell replied, hugging his daughter tightly, the thought of losing her scaring him to death.

"Daddy, you're crushing me."

"I'm sorry, angel," he said loosening his grip a little. "I've got my four best agents staying with her."

"I've should have a few agents I can spare for the detail, if you want them," Gibbs offered.

"Hell yes," Tobias replied.

"Bishop!" Gibbs called, rousing her from her sleep.

"Hmm? Yeah, Gibbs?" She said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You're on the protection detail for Emily at the FBI safe house. Get ready to go."

"You got it."

"Who else do you have for me?" Fornell asked, "To be honest I was hoping you'd give me someone a little more... experienced."

"Nah, Bishop will do good," Gibbs replied. "Your four agents are all male, right? It'll do Emmy good to have some female company."

"Ok, who else?"

Gibbs scanned the bullpen, which was nearly deserted at the early hour. He couldn't spare Tony or Tim. He needed them to help catch Sergei. His eyes finally fell onto his old friend, Special Agent Stan Burley, who'd recently been reassigned back to DC and was head of a cold case unit. Stan was sitting at his desk, drinking coffee and combing through files.

"Morning, Stan," Gibbs said as he approached him.

"Hey, good morning, Gibbs. Listen, I'm sorry to hear about... everything that's been happening. Anything I can do to help?"

"As a matter of fact, there is. How'd you like to get out of the office for a few days?"

"Sounds like a nice change of pace. What's the assignment?"

"Protection detail for Emily Fornell at the FBI safe house."

"No problem," Stan replied, grabbing his badge and holstering his weapon. "Agent Fornell," he said as he saw Tobias approaching, "I'm so sorry about Diane."

"Me, too," Fornell replied. "You and Bishop can follow me to the safe house. We'll debrief when we get there."

"Thank you, Stan," Gibbs said, shaking his hand.

"Please, I'm happy to do it. Heard she's a nice kid."

Gibbs walked over to Emily and hugged her. "Try not to be too hard on the agents, huh? Your dad will be here helping me after he drops you off, so if you need anything, you can call either one of us."

"Thanks, Uncle Jay," she said, returning his hug, and Gibbs knew then just how badly she was hurting. She stopped calling him Uncle Jay when she was four years old and could finally pronounce "Gibbs" correctly.

After Bishop and Stan left with Emily and Tobias, Gibbs roused the rest of the team from their sleep.

"Time to wake up, kids. Got work to do."

He told the team about how Sergei was Ari's friend, and that's why he was after them. He did not tell him how he obtained the information, and nobody asked. This was Gibbs, after all. All day they chased down leads on Sergei and each time came up empty handed. By four that afternoon, Gibbs sighed in frustration and growled to himself, "Where the hell is he?" Sergei was gone and he left no breadcrumbs.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called.

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Go down to the coffee cart to get us refills. Do NOT leave the Navy Yard."

Tony nodded, holstered his weapon and walked over to the elevator. When the doors opened and he stepped inside, he thought he'd stepped into a dream. He was face to face with Ziva.

"Hello, Tony." Ziva said, as she let the elevator doors close again. Tony stood in a shocked silence so Ziva pushed the button for the lobby and then hit the emergency stop switch once the elevator was moving.

"Tony, you cannot even say hello?"

"Hello, Ninja." Tony said in a whisper, but his voice still betrayed him. He spent so long trying to forget her... trying to bury his feelings. He'd spent hours in support groups trying to ease his heartache, and even started dating again. He thought he'd successfully vanquished his feelings for her. How wrong he was. As soon as he laid eyes on her, all of those deeply buried feeling rushed back to the surface. Tears filled his eyes, and a single one slid down his cheek. Ziva took his face in her hands and used her thumb to wipe away the tear.

"I missed you, Tony," Ziva whispered.

At that, Tony could not hold back any longer. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips against hers. Ziva reciprocated his kiss, and for a few minutes, nothing else existed but the two of them. Tony finally pulled away and rested his forehead against her.

"God, I missed you so much, Ziva. What are you doing here?"

"I am here to help you catch Sergei."

"How did you hear about Sergei?"

"Gibbs called me. I recognized Sergei as Ari's friend. As soon as I was done speaking to Gibbs, I booked a flight."

"I'm so glad you're here," Tony whispered, "But as much as I'd love to stay in this elevator with you, I have to make a coffee run. Care to join me?"

"I would be delighted," Ziva replied with a smile as she restarted the elevator and took hold of his arm.

When they got back to the bullpen with the coffee, Gibbs looked up and saw Ziva walking in with Tony.

"Hey Ziver," Gibbs said, walking over to give her a hug, and Tim looked up from his computer.

"Ziva?" He asked, looking around the bullpen. He finally spotted her hugging Gibbs. "Oh my God, Ziva!" Tim cried, rushing over to her.

Ziva let go of Gibbs and pulled Tim into a hug.

"Good to see you again, McGee."

"Yeah," Tim said, beaming at her, "Good to see you, too! What are you doing here?"

"I am here to help, but first, if it's ok with you Gibbs, I would like to go down to see Abby, Ducky and Jimmy."

"Sure, Ziver."

Ziva smiled at her old team, before taking the stairs down to Abby's lab. When she walked in, Abby was in front of her computer with her back to Ziva, combing through evidence from Sergei's apartment. She did not hear Ziva come in.

Ziva smiled. "It does not look that different from the last time I was in here."

Abby's head shot up. "No freakin' way..." She turned around and Ziva smiled at her.

"Hello, Abby."

"ZIVA!" Abby yelled, then rushed over and slammed in to her for a hug. "Ziva, Ziva, Ziva! I missed you sooooo much!"

"Abby," Ziva rasped, "I need to breathe!"

"Sorry," Abby said, loosening her grip, "I'm just so happy to see you!" Abby chatted with her excitedly, updating her on everything that was happening. After a few minutes, Ziva excused herself to go see Ducky, promising Abby they would speak again soon.

When she got down to autopsy, she saw Ducky cutting into a body of one of the men Gibbs shot in Sergei's apartment the day before. She did not see Jimmy.

"Hello, Ducky."

Ducky spun around and a smile spread across his face. "My dear Ziva..." Ducky stripped off his face mask, gloves and smock and pulled Ziva into a hug.

"It's so good to see you Ducky."

"It's good to see you, too, my dear, but I'm afraid you caught me at a bad time. Will you be here for a while?"

"Yes. I am helping with the case. Sergei was... Ari's best friend."

"Ah... I see. It's all starting to make sense now. Well, the good news is, if you can call it good news, is that we are all on lockdown temporarily. No one is allowed to leave the Navy Yard during the day or the building at night, so we have plenty of time to catch up this evening. You just missed Mr. Palmer, I sent him up to Abby, but you will see him later. Miss Ziva, have you seen Anthony yet?"

"Yes. He was actually the first person I saw. I bumped into him on the elevator."

"Good. He misses you terribly, you know. He took it quite hard when you left... Poor boy suffered a great deal since then... I'm sorry, I'm not trying to burden you or make you feel guilty. You did what was best for you, and that is what we all should do. It'll just be nice to see joy in his eyes again. I hate to cut this short, my dear but I have one more body to attend to after this one. You will be spending the night here?"

"Yes."

"Good. Then we will talk soon?"

"Of course, Ducky." She smiled, kissed his cheek and then got back on the elevator.

When the elevator doors closed and she was alone, she pushed the emergency stop switch, buried her face in her hands and cried. She thought Tony may be sad when she left, but she never wanted him to suffer. When he first let a tear fall in the elevator, she suspected he'd taken her absence harder than she originally thought, and now Ducky just gave her confirmation. She could see how much he was hurting when they said their goodbyes, but she never thought he would carry that sadness for so long.

She needed to talk to Tony. He was so happy that she was back, that she didn't get a chance to tell him that she was not planning to stay long. She took a few deep breaths, put on a brave face and headed back to the bullpen.

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**You guys are awesome! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 3 **

Tobias Fornell stepped off of the elevator and into the NCIS bullpen.

"What the hell took you so long?" Gibbs asked when he saw him.

"The safe house is far from here, Jethro. And poor Emily, she didn't want me to leave. Anyway, I'm here now, so give me an update."

Gibbs ran him through a whole lot of nothing pertaining to the possible whereabouts of Sergei Mishnev.

Tony and Tim were sitting at their desks, when Ziva came back up from autopsy.

"David! Didn't expect to see you!" Fornell said, surprised.

"Nice to see you, Agent Fornell. I am... sorry to hear about Diane."

"I didn't expect to see you, either," Director Vance said coming down the stairs from his office.

"Hello, Director."

"How are you, Ziva?" He asked.

"I am fine, thank you. I am here to help, in any way that I can. I know that I am no longer an agent, but I was hoping..."

"Why don't you meet me in my office in an hour? We'll talk."

"That sounds good, Director. Thank you."

"It's nice to see you again, Ziva."

"You too," Ziva replied with a smile.

"Calling in the big guns, huh Gibbs?" Fornell asked, allowing himself his first smile in over 24 hours.

"You blame me?" Gibbs asked.

"Hell no. Thanks for coming Ziva."

Ziva just smiled at him, then walked over to her old desk, which was cluttered with Bishop's things.

"You can sit at your desk, you know," Tony said. He had not taken his eyes off of her since she came back in.

"It is no longer 'my' desk, Tony. Clearly someone else is occupying it. Will I get to meet?..."

"Bishop. Former NSA analyst Eleanor 'Ellie' Bishop." Tony informed her. "She's ok. A little weird. Got this... strange food obsession happening... Likes to sit on the floor... But she's ok. Smart... No field experience before NCIS... in short, she's not you. But she does alright... for a Probie."

"Is she not here?"

"She's on the protection detail for Fornell's daughter at the FBI safe house." Tim spoke up. "Don't worry, you can sit. We won't tell." Tim offered a wink and a smile, and Ziva smiled back and sat down at her old desk.

It felt strange but at the same time oddly familiar and comforting to be back at her old desk, and seeing Tony and Tim across from her. Just like old times...

Tony's cell phone starting ringing. He checked the caller ID, frowned, then got up and walked out of the bullpen and into the conference room.

"Is he ok?" Ziva asked Tim. "He never used to care if anyone heard him on a personal call..."

"Things have changed since you left, Ziva. Tony's changed. He's a lot more private, now. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's definitely still Tony, just more... reserved."

In the conference room Tony just stared his ringing phone. It was ATF Special Agent Zoe Keates. They hadn't officially classified themselves as "boyfriend and girlfriend" but neither one was seeing anyone else... That is until Ziva reappeared, and Tony kissed her in the elevator. He sighed as he watched the phone ring. He liked, Zoe. He really did... But he did not love her. He loved Ziva, though, with every ounce of his being. He knew if he had any chance of getting Ziva to stay, he needed to break it off with Zoe, ASAP. He watched the phone ring until the voicemail picked up, put his phone back into his pocket and went back into the bullpen.

"Everything ok, Tony?" Ziva asked when he returned.

"Yeah," Tony lied, forcing a smile. "Some idiot trying to sell me a timeshare..."

Ziva saw right through his lie, as she always did, but did not call him on it.

The sound of Gibbs' ringing phone caught their attention, this time.

"Yeah, Abbs, what do ya got?" Gibbs answered.

"Gibbs, can you guys come to the lab?"

"On our way," Gibbs said before snapping the phone shut. "Let's go, Abby's got something."

They all crammed into the elevator that went to the lab and Ziva smiled as the doors closed. "Just like old times," she said quietly, and they all smiled at her. Tony reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"What do ya got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked as they walked into the lab.

"Fingerprints, Gibbs. Lots of them. Hi again, Ziva! So, I got matches to Mishnev and our four dead guys, but there are two sets that I haven't identified, yet. Still running the search, but no hits yet. But of course you know that I would never call you down to tell you that I have nothing. You know those maps of US military installations that you guys found in Mishnev's apartment? Well, most of them were pinned to the wall, but there was one that was on a desk in the back room. I did an imprint rubbing on it."

"Imprint rubbing?" Fornell asked.

"Yeah. If you take a piece of paper, put it on top of another piece of paper and write something on it, whatever you write gets imprinted onto the paper underneath. Let me show you." Abby took two pieces of paper, put one on top of the other, and wrote, "Hello Agent Fornell" on it.

"Now, I take the paper underneath," Abby continued, "put a fresh piece of paper on top, and gently rub it with a charcoal stick. Watch." Abby rubbed the paper with the charcoal stick, and all of it turned black except for where the pen pressed the bottom paper down. "Hello Agent Fornell" clearly stood out in the charcoal smudge.

"So what did you find?" Gibbs asked.

"An address." She handed him the paper with the imprint rubbing from the map and it said, "NT- 635 Hickory Road Stillwater, PA 17878."

"Gibbs, isn't that your father's address? He passed away a few months ago, yes?" Ziva asked.

"Yeah... but Sergei doesn't know that. I haven't updated my personnel file yet. The information that Sergei stole is telling him that he's still alive."

"Gibbs, is anyone living at the house?" Tim asked.

"No. It's sold, but the buyers aren't moving in until the beginning of next month."

"I'm still trying to figure out what the "NT" before the address means..." Abby said, wracking her brain to solve the puzzle.

"It means "Next Target", Gibbs replied. "Everyone use the potty before we leave. Ziva, go see Director Vance now, then meet us in the bullpen. Tony, get Ziva a weapon. We're going to Stillwater."

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**I do not have a beta so any mistakes are mine. I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 4**

Ziva took the stairs up to Director Vance's office. His secretary had already gone home for the evening, so she took a deep breath and knocked on his door.

"Come in."

"Hello, Director," Ziva said, closing the door behind her.

"Ziva. I thought I said to meet me in an hour."

"Yes, you did," Ziva replied, "but something has come up. Abby has found evidence that Mishnev has made Jackson Gibbs his next target."

"Jackson Gibbs? He died... What, almost three months ago?"

"Yes, but Gibbs said he never updated his personnel file so Sergei does not know that. We are headed to Stillwater." Before the Director could reply, Ziva continued. "Director, I know that I am not an NCIS agent anymore. I know it would probably be impossible for me to be reinstated, even temporarily... but this man is targeting my family. I cannot guarantee that I will not kill him if I find him... No one can stop me from protecting and helping the people that I love. I just do not want to be prosecuted as a result."

Director Vance smiled at her. "Well, it turns out you're in luck, Ziva. When Director Shepard was in the big chair, she enacted a new policy right after Gibbs came out of retirement... Probably because of the mountain of paperwork she had to do to get him temporarily reinstated for the cases you guys called him back on... The policy states that former agents that left in good standing can be immediately, temporarily reinstated for high priority cases. This case meets the high priority criteria." He took Ziva's badge and ID out of a drawer and laid them on the desk in front of her. "Welcome back, Special Agent David."

Ziva went back down to the bullpen, her badge clipped to her belt and her ID in her pocket. "Special Agent David?" Tony asked with a smile when he saw her badge.

"It is temporary, Tony. Just for this case, because it is high priority."

"I guess that'll do... for now." Tony replied with a smile. He walked over to her and handed her a gun and holster. "You do remember how to shoot, don't you?" He asked and she glared at him playfully.

"I do not know, Tony, would you like to find out?" She asked. Tony just grinned at her. God, how he'd missed this, their playful banter.

"We're leaving in five," Gibbs called to them.

Tony's phone started ringing again. He sighed and walked toward the conference room. This time he answered it, and before the conference room door closed behind him she heard him say, "This really isn't a good time."

"McGee," Ziva said, walking over to Tim, "I need a small favor."

"Sure, Ziva, what's up?"

"We will be taking two cars to Stillwater. Could you... ride with Gibbs and Fornell? I need to speak with Tony. Privately."

"That sounds like a big favor, Ziva," Tim replied quietly. "Four hours in a car alone with Gibbs AND Fornell? That's a huge favor."

"Please, Tim. It is important that I speak to him alone."

Tim saw the serious look in her eyes, and finally relented with a sigh. "Ok, fine. But only because it's you asking... and you owe me a drink after this."

"I owe you two. Thank you, McGee," she said, kissing his cheek.

Tony finally came out of the conference room and grabbed his go bag from behind his desk.

"Alright, kids, let's move," Tobias ordered.

Ziva did not argue like she used to when Tony got in the driver's seat. They both buckled their seatbelts and then followed Gibbs out of the Navy Yard. It was a long drive to Stillwater, so Ziva simply leaned her head back and pondered how to strike up the conversation she needed to have with him.

Tony turned on the radio, found a song that he liked, and then reached over and grabbed Ziva's hand, lacing his fingers through hers. His heart was pounding with nervous excitement. He couldn't remember the last time he felt so good. They were on their way to catch a bad guy, and this time the bad guy had bad information and did not know they were coming. Ziva was at his side, her hand in his and her thumb gently stroking his. Tony quietly hummed along to the song playing on the radio and lifted her hand to kiss it as he drove. "Gonna be a long drive to Stillwater, Ninja. You're probably exhausted after a 12 hour flight. You can close your eyes, take a nap if you want. I'll wake you up before we get there."

Ziva knew that she had to have a serious conversation with him, but his offer sounded tempting. She was exhausted after a 12 hour flight. "I will not sleep... but I may just rest my eyes for a bit..."

Tony kissed her hand again and watched out of the corner of his eye as she fell asleep. "Rest your eyes, my Ziva," Tony said quietly, "I've got your six."

As Ziva slept, Tony wracked his brain trying to figure out how to get her to stay. He never thought he'd see her again, and now that she was here with him, he was not too proud to get on his knees and beg if he had too. "And if that doesn't work," Tony thought to himself, "I'm just going to have to pack my stuff and move to Israel." He was startled at how comfortable he was with the idea. He didn't want to leave the US, his job, his family... but he knew that he could not handle losing her again. He had her and planned on keeping her, regardless of what it cost him. Zoe wasn't going to be happy about it, and he never meant to hurt her... He just never expected Ziva to come back. Now that she was there with him, all bets were off, and any feelings that he may have had for Zoe were washed away as soon as he laid eyes on his ass kicking, Israeli, ninja assassin.

"I'm still fighting for you, Ziva," he said quietly as she slept. "I never should have let you go. I should have stayed in Israel with you." Ziva did not respond, as she was now snoring slightly. Tony squeezed her hand gently, and let her sleep as they drove out of the city and into the country.

**TBC...**

**Sorry this is such a short chapter. There will be more coming soon. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 5**

Ziva awoke in the car and looked around. Tony was navigating through highway traffic and Ziva mentally scolded herself. She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Tony was still holding her hand and she gave it a squeeze and sat up.

"Hey sleeping beauty," Tony said, "Have a nice rest?"

"I did not mean to fall asleep. Where are we?"

"Just crossed the border from Maryland into Pennsylvania. We still have a ways to go yet. You only slept for about an hour."

Ziva nodded, relieved that she had not slept through the whole trip. There was still time to speak to Tony.

"Tony... We need to talk."

"I already know what you're gonna say, Ziva."

"Do you?"

"Yup. But before you say anything, let me ask you a question. Do you love me?"

"What?" She asked, confused as to where he was taking this.

"It's a simple question. Do you love me?" He asked again.

"You know I do," she replied quietly.

"Then be with me, Ziva," he pleaded. "I love you so much that it's killing me. I can't... I can't lose you again."

"It is not that simple."

"Sure it is!" Tony replied, desperate to convince her. "Move back home with me. Or, if you won't do that... let me come back to Israel with you."

"I cannot allow you to leave everything that you know and love behind to be with me. You love NCIS. You love your team. I cannot let you do that."

"You love NCIS and our team, too," Tony replied, "And you left so you could do what's best for you. I'm willing to make the same sacrifices if it means I can be with you."

"Tony, I left because the path that I was put on in life caused pain for many people. I needed to start over."

"Uh huh, and where are you now? Driving with me to Pennsylvania to catch a bad guy with an NCIS badge clipped to your belt.

"It is temporary, Tony. I cannot allow anyone to hurt my family."

"Anyone but yourself, you mean." Tony said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Ziva said, shocked at his statement and pulling her hand out of his.

"You heard me. You hurt us when you left. You hurt me. I love you. Ziva... I NEED you..." Tony gripped the steering wheel with both hands and kept his eyes fixed on the road. A single tear slid down his cheek. "You've been through too much. Any mistakes you've made in life, you've paid for and then some. You deserve to be happy, Ziva. Let me make you happy."

"You want me to come back to NCIS? Just pick up where we left off as it nothing happened?"

"That's not what I mean. We already have Bishop on the team. I know why you're here with us now, but I also know that you don't want to do this kind of work anymore. That's ok. Like I told you in Israel, you can bag groceries for all I care. Please, Ziva. Please," Tony begged, "just come home."

Ziva stayed silent a moment, pondering the words that he spoke to her. He was right. She left the US and returned to Israel to start over, and to make amends... But there was no one in Israel to make amends with, no family there. Eli, Ari, and Tali were all dead. She wanted nothing to do with Mossad. She started a new life in Israel and went through the motions everyday, but was definitely not happy. And as a US citizen she was now a foreigner in her own country.

Ziva sighed. "There is a lot to think about."

Tony's heart skipped a beat and a glimmer of hope welled up inside of him. "Please, Ziva," he said again quietly.

"I do not have an answer for you yet, Tony. There is much to think about."

"But you'll think about it?" He asked hopefully.

"I will think about it. But no promises."

"No promises," Tony agreed, happy that she was now at least considering his offer. He reached over, took her hand again and brought it to his lips for a kiss. He turned the radio back up and continued driving, this time with a slight smile on his face. They drove the rest of the way to Stillwater in silence, but never letting go of the others hand.

**~NCIS~**

When they arrived in Stillwater, they went to Jack's old store first. Derrick was behind the counter and looked up as they walked in. "Gibbs! Good to see you."

"Likewise, Derrick. But I'm not here for a social call." He gave Derrick the basics of what was happening, a bad guy was after him, didn't know his father had passed, and was coming to Stillwater. "Might already be here," Gibbs said. "You seen anyone suspicious in here the last few days? Any out of towners?"

"No. Just our regulars."

"Good. Close the store. Go home. The store needs to stay closed until this is over. Don't need you getting killed."

"Gibbs, I'm engaged. Got a kid on the way. I can't afford to close the shop indefinitely."

"You have enough money to keep you going for a few days?" Gibbs asked.

"I think so."

"Close the shop," Gibbs said again. "Get me records of your financials. NCIS will reimburse you for the profit loss. This is not up for debate. Hopefully we can have you back in business by the end of the day."

Once the store was locked and Derrick was safely on his way home, Gibbs turned to his team. "Let's head over to the house."

"Can I drive with you guys this time?" Tim whispered frantically to Tony and Ziva.

"We're not driving," Gibbs said. "If they're already at the house they'll hear the cars and open fire on us. Everyone got a vest on? Good. Let's take a walk."

Gibbs led them into the woods and down a path that was burned in his memory from his childhood. After a quick, ten minute hike, Gibbs held up his hand and took out his weapon. They all checked their weapons and moved forward quietly, the back of Jackson's old house coming into view.

"It doesn't look like anyone's here." Tim whispered.

"They're coming." Gibbs replied.

"Should we go in? Wait for them to come and take them down?" Tim asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "No. If they pull up and just open fire on the house, we're all screwed. I've got a better idea. Come on."

Gibbs showed them the best climbing trees in the small section of woods right behind the house and told them to head up.

"You've got to be kidding me, Jethro. You want me to climb a friggin' tree?!" Fornell asked incredulously.

"You got a better idea, Tobias?"

"I hate you so much right now," Tobias replied as he started climbing.

Three men with thick Russian accents quietly made their way onto the front porch and kicked the front door open. "Place is completely empty! You you sure this is the right address?" One of the men asked.

"Yes, this is the right address! Check all of the rooms!" They split up, cleared the house and met back in the living room.

"No one lives here. Boss must've got it wrong. Let's get out of here."

"No! Boss never gets the details wrong! Let's check the garage, then the backyard and the woods behind the house. If he's not here then he's at the store in town. Let's go."

They went into the garage, then out to the back yard. "Split up. Check the woods." The leader of the group said in Russian. They all drew their guns and made their way into the woods slowly. Three shots rang out, and all three men dropped. The agents jumped down from the trees.

"I am getting too old for this," Tobias said as they approached the dead men.

"Tony, Ziva," Gibbs said, "go back to the store and bring the cars here. We've got a scene to process."

The local coroner arrived and agreed to drive the bodies back to DC after Fornell shoved his FBI badge in his face and threatened a federal investigation. As they processed the scene, one of the dead men's phones started ringing. Gibbs picked it up and looked at the caller ID. Sergei. Gibbs looked around and sighed. They did not have the equipment they needed to trace the call now, but as long as he answered they might be able to trace it later.

"Preevyet," Gibbs answered the phone in perfect Russian.

Sergei's voice came through, "Is it finished? Is Jackson Gibbs dead?"

"Check." Gibbs said in reply.

"Agent Gibbs..." Sergei said, surprised at the unexpected turn off events. "I am surprised to hear your voice. I can only assumed that you killed or captured my men..."

"I didn't capture anyone, they're dead. Just like you're gonna be when I find you."

"Aw, Gibbs, did they kill your father?" Sergei asked in a mocking tone.

"My dad is dead, but you didn't kill him. He's been at the cemetery on the north side of town for almost three months. Aw, Sergei, did you get bad information?" Gibbs replied.

Sergei hung up without another word.

"Alright, let's finish up here and head back to DC to find this bastard. I'm tired of playing these games."

**TBC...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for the reviews, follows and favorites. Here we go! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 6 **

When the team got back to DC, it was the middle of the night. Ducky, Jimmy and Abby were already asleep on the floor of the bullpen. He hated to do it, but Gibbs had to wake them. He knelt down next to Abby and rubbed her shoulder gently. "Abbs... Time to wake up. I got a Caf-POW! for you and some evidence."

"I'm on it, Gibbs," she said sleepily, "They don't call me 'Energizer Abby' for nothing."

"McGee, go down with Abby and see if you can find out what's on the cellphones and laptop we found."

"On it, Boss."

Gibbs woke up Ducky and Jimmy, sent them down to autopsy and then turned to Tony and Ziva.

"What do you need us to do, Gibbs?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs looked at them for a moment before saying, "Sleep."

"Sleep?" Tony asked

"Yeah. Sleep. I'm gonna need you when Tim and Abby find something. Might as well get some rest while you can. I'm going down to see Ducky." And with that, Gibbs left the bullpen.

"Well Ziva," Tony said after Gibbs left and they were alone in the bullpen, "Shall we?"

Tony took Ziva's hand and she followed him over to his desk. He pushed his chair into his desk and set up his blanket and pillows on the floor behind it. He kicked off his shoes and laid down. "Don't be shy, Ziva," Tony said closing his eyes and holding out an arm. Ziva took off her shoes, and laid down next to Tony with her back to him. He covered them both with his blanket, spooned up against her and wrapped his arms around her. He buried his face in her hair and breathed deeply. "God, I missed you, Ziva. I hope you'll stay with me."

"Goodnight, ahuvi," Ziva whispered.

"I love you, Ziva."

At 0500 that morning, Gibbs woke up at his desk and looked around the bullpen, which was quiet and looked deserted.

He walked over to Tony's desk and peered behind it. Tony was still spooned up against Ziva and his fingers were laced through hers.

"Tony," Gibbs said, trying to wake them. He didn't want to shout and startle them. "Tony!" Gibbs said again, a bit louder this time.

"Hmm?" Tony said, still asleep. He pulled Ziva closer to him and mumbled, "Ziva... Hmm, I love you, Ziva. Stay with me, ok?"

Gibbs sighed and ran a hand over his face. He knew how hard Tony had took it when Ziva left. He was dreading having to deal with the situation all over again. Gibbs tried a different approach to wake them.

"Ziva!" He called quietly. Ziva's eyes shot open. She looked up at Gibbs, who was staring down at them with a smirk. She carefully extracted herself from Tony's embrace, and stood up to face Gibbs.

"Good morning, Abba. That was... not what it looked like..."

"Yes it was," Gibbs said quietly, as Tony was still sleeping. "We'll let him sleep a few more minutes. Come with me to get coffee."

After they got back to the building, Gibbs made sure Tony was still asleep, and then went into the conference room with Ziva.

"He loves you, you know," Gibbs said as they say down with their coffee, "And I know that you love him. You still plan on leaving when this is over?"

Ziva was taken aback by his question. She wasn't prepared for it. "We spoke on the way to Stillwater... Tony and I."

"I figured that was why you stuck McGee with me and Fornell."

"Yes. Tony has asked me to stay here... or allow him to return to Israel with me."

This time Gibbs was taken aback. Tony had turned down his own team in Rota so he could stay in DC. Dozens of promotions had come across his desk since then, and Tony rejected every one, because he was happy where he was. Him asking Ziva to let him go to Israel with her was completely unexpected on Gibbs' part.

"Ziver... Tony loves his job here."

"I know! And that is why I told him that I could not allow him to leave everything behind!"

"Let me finish. Tony loves his job here... But he loves you more. The fact that he's willing to leave everything behind, job, family, friends... to be with you... that's saying something, kid. Something big. Let me ask you a question. Are you happy in Israel?"

Ziva pondered his question.

"There shouldn't be any hesitation. It's a simple yes or no, Ziva."

"I do not know, Abba," Ziva answered truthfully, "I try to be happy... But it is... difficult." Her voice cracked, and a tear slid down her cheek.

Gibbs took hold of her hand. "It shouldn't be difficult, Ziver. You were happy when you were here, weren't you?"

"Yes," she whispered as more tears fell. "God, Gibbs, I... I made a mistake... I never should have left. I never should have left my family. You guys are my family. I should have just left the job, but stayed here. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok, Ziver."

"No! It is not ok! I hurt you! And I hurt McGee and Abby, and Ducky and Jimmy! And I have hurt my Tony most of all! How could I be so selfish!" She cried.

"Ziver... we all make mistakes. That's rule 51, remember? Sometimes, you're wrong. The important thing is that we try to make it right."

"I will, Abba. I will make it right."

Gibbs stood and held out his arms, "Come here, kid."

Ziva ran into his arms and he held her as she cried. "It's ok, Ziva," he whispered, "It's ok, kid."

"You are not angry that I am not returning to NCIS permanently?"

"No," Gibbs said, "I'm just happy you're coming home. Besides, if you came back to NCIS, you couldn't be with Tony. I have a rule against that, remember?" He teased.

Ziva laughed and wiped away her tears. "Thank you, Abba."

"Why don't you head down and see how McGee and Abby are doing? I'll wake up Tony and meet you down there."

Ziva went down to the lab and Gibbs woke up Tony. Before he could rub the sleep out of his eyes, his phone started beeping. It was a text message from Zoe that said, "Lost my ID, they won't let me in the Navy Yard to see you. Can you meet me down at the gate in 10 minutes? It's really important." Tony stood to stretch, took a long swig of coffee and handed his phone to Gibbs to show him the text.

"She's mad at me," he said, "I've been blowing her off ever since..."

"Ever since Ziva got back?" Gibbs finished for him.

"Yeah. Hey, where is Ziva, anyway?"

"Down in the lab. So what are you gonna do about Zoe?" Gibbs asked, handing the phone back.

"Guess I'm gonna tell her the truth... You mind if I go down, Boss? I won't be long, I just didn't want to break up with her over the phone."

"Do what you gotta do, DiNozzo."

Tony walked to the front gate of the Navy Yard and waved to the guard stationed there. We waited just outside the gate for her to arrive. Ten minutes later, when there was still no sign of her, he pulled out his phone to call her. Before he could dial, he heard the sound of tires screeching and watched as a black van tore around the corner. Two silenced shots hit the guard in the chest. Tony pulled out his weapon but before he could fire the front door of the van opened as it approached, hitting him hard. Tony went down, dazed by the blow. The van screeched to a halt, and two men got out. They grabbed Tony, threw him in the van and peeled away. With his last ounce of strength and final breath, the guard, who just took two to the chest, reached up and hit the emergency alarm.

The alarm rang out loudly in the Navy Yard. Gibbs dropped his coffee on the floor of the bullpen and ran down the stairs and outside as fast as he could. When he got to the front gate, he saw that the guard was dead and Tony was gone.

**TBC...**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm really glad you guys are enjoying this! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 7**

Ziva paced around the NCIS lab, terrified. Gibbs stood a few feet behind her with Fornell, and Abby and Tim frantically typed at Abby's computers, trying to find something, anything, that would help them find Tony.

Gibbs' phone started ringing and Gibbs did not recognize the number. "Yeah, Gibbs," he answered.

"Hello again, Agent Gibbs," Sergei said on the other end. Gibbs snapped his fingers loudly at his team and pointed to his phone.

"Starting a trace, Boss," Tim said quietly, "try to keep him talking."

Gibbs put the phone on speaker and laid it down on the table. "Where the hell is my agent?" Gibbs growled at him.

"Don't worry, I have not killed Agent DiNozzo... yet. He's a very interesting young man."

"It's gonna be even more 'interesting' when I kill you," Gibbs replied.

"You know Gibbs," Sergei said as Tim frantically tried to trace the call, "Your ex-wives are not the only people I have been keeping tabs on the last few weeks. I have been keeping an eye on your Special Agent DiNozzo as well. The two of you have a long history. It's funny... He seems to spend more time at your house than he does at home, or even with that lovely ATF Agent Zoe Keates. Always going over there with a six pack or a pizza... It is easy to see that he loves you as if you were his father... And you no doubt love him like he was your own son."

"What the hell is your point, Sergei?" Gibbs asked, looking up at Tim, who was still running the trace. Sergei's signal was getting bounced all over the world.

"How will it feel, Agent Gibbs, when I allow you to watch me kill your son? How will it feel for you when another one of your children dies? Like I said Gibbs, you mess with my family... I mess with yours."

"You'll be dead before you can kill Tony," Gibbs replied, trying to keep him talking. "You know, I haven't seen you since I almost strangled you to death in that apartment. What's the matter, Sergei? You afraid I'll get the upper hand again?"

"It's simple really," Sergei replied, "It is easy for me to find men who are willing to work. When I tell them about what you've done, they are all the more eager to help. You know, you've just given me a good idea... Maybe I should start recruiting... I'm sure it will be easy to find others that you have wronged... and I think I know just the person to start with. Agent DiNozzo has 72 hours to live. Check, Agent Gibbs." Sergei disconnected the call.

"I'm sorry, Boss, but he's using a sophisticated voice over internet protocol and bouncing his signal all over the world. I can't trace it."

"Damn it!" Gibbs growled. Ziva's phone suddenly started to ring. "Who is that?" He asked before Ziva could answer.

"I do not know, I don't recognize the number."

"That's Sergei!" Gibbs said as soon as he saw the number. It was the same number that he called Gibbs from.

"Why is he calling me?"

Gibbs sighed, "Because he wants to recruit you. Sergei only knows that you left NCIS. He doesn't know that you're back here helping us." Gibbs replied, and Ziva's eyes lit up.

"I guess Sergei has a new recruit then." Ziva said, and Tim and Abby looked at each other and smiled. They knew exactly what Ziva was doing.

She pressed the answer button on her phone, put it on speaker, and laid it on the table. "Shalom," she answered in a friendly, conversational tone.

"Shalom, Ziva. I do not know if you remember me. My name is Sergei Mishnev. I was..."

"Ari's friend." Ziva finished. "I do remember you, Sergei. It's been a long time. How are you?"

"I am fine, Ziva thank you. I was just thinking about Ari, and wanted to see how you were doing. Are you still with the American agency NCIS?" Sergei asked, feigning ignorance. He knew damn well that she wasn't.

Ziva laughed, "Ha! No. That was a nightmare, that place."

"Oh no, what happened?" Sergei asked, sounding concerned.

"Where should I begin?" Ziva laughed, "Well, first, as I'm sure you know, Agent Gibbs killed Ari, because they thought Ari killed one of their agents, which I still do not believe is true," she lied," "and then my father forced me to be their Mossad liaison officer and assigned me to his team! So I did what I was told and worked with them, and a few years later, Gibbs' Senior Field Agent shot and killed my boyfriend!"

"I'm so sorry, Ziva," Sergei said, and Ziva continued.

"I told Agent Gibbs that I did not trust Agent DiNozzo anymore, and that I thought one of us should be transferred to another team. Instead of doing that, Agent Gibbs fired me and sent me back to Israel!"

"They sound like very bad men, these Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo," Sergei replied.

"And that's not all! Then my father sent me on a suicide mission in Somalia to catch a terrorist. I booked passage on a cargo ship called the Damocles to take me to the Horn of Africa. My Mossad partner at the time shot a deserting US Marine, and the ship sank. We got to Africa safely, but I was captured by the terrorists in Somalia. The NCIS agents assumed that I had perished on board the Damocles, then stormed the terrorist camp and killed Saleem so they could return home as heroes. You can imagine their surprise when they found me there!"

"Indeed!" Sergei laughed.

Ziva looked up at Gibbs and winked, and Gibbs smiled at her. She was damn good. The best undercover agent that Gibbs had ever worked with. She knew exactly how to play on Sergei to make him sympathetic enough to her situation to recruit her.

"Well, since my father had left me to die in the desert and the NCIS agents found me and brought me back, I accepted an offer from them to return to the team as an Agent. After they interrogated me, of course."

"But Ziva, why would you work for them again after what they put you through?"

"Lack of options, I suppose. I needed a job and they were offering one."

"So then what happened?" Sergei asked, enraptured by her tale.

"So I became a full agent at NCIS, and then my father was killed while having dinner with the Director. A few years later, Gibbs was investigated by the Department of Defense."

"About time!" Sergei exclaimed.

"Yes! And I was strong armed by the other agents into resigning from NCIS with the promise that as soon as Gibbs was cleared of the charges, I would get my badge back."

"But it did not work out that way, did it?"

"No. The other agents were asked to return, and they told me that they believed I was better suited somewhere else. So I returned to Israel, and here I am."

"That must have been terrible for you Ziva. You must dream of taking revenge on these people."

"I dream of it every night," Ziva lied.

"Well, what would you say if I told you that I could give you a chance to exact your revenge on these agents?"

"I would relish that opportunity. Can we me somewhere?"

"Yes. Are you able to get to the US?"

"I can book a flight and be there in 16 hours."

"Call me at this number when you arrive in the United States. We will meet and I'll give you all of the details. It will be nice to see you again. I'm glad I can give you this opportunity. Shalom, Ziva."

"Shalom, Sergei."

Ziva ended the call sounding friendly and upbeat, then buried her face in her hands and cried. Gibbs immediately took her into his arms. "You still got it, kid. That was great," he whispered. "You're gonna get Tony back and we'll make this son of a bitch pay for what he's done. I promise you, Ziva. We will get Tony back safely."

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**You guys are amazing! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 8**

"Ow, OW! Hey! Take it easy! I have sensitive skin, you know!" Tony said to his captors as they tied him to a chair and handcuffed his wrists tightly behind his back.

"Be quiet," one of the men replied. Tony ignored his request.

"Hey, do you have any Tylenol or ibuprofen or something? Got a killer headache from when the door of your speeding van hit me!"

"I said BE. QUIET." The man replied again, his face inches from Tony's.

"Whoa! Wow. You know they make a product, I see the infomercials for it all the time, that's supposed to cure bad breath from the inside out! It's called InFresh, or something like that, you might want to try it..."

Before Tony could continue, the man backhanded him across the face, hard. "I said SHUT IT!"

Tony winced with pain, licked the blood from his lips and kept right on talking. "Alright, alright, take it easy, Mr. Grinch! No need for excessive violence! It's not exactly fair for you to hit me because I can't fight back. Hey, do you know what this reminds me of? That movie, True Lies, you know with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis? Charlton Heston had a part in it? Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, and Tia Carrere? What a cast! Only when they tied Arnold to the chair, the mad scientist shot him full of truth serum. That really happened to me once, you know! We were in Somalia to catch this terrorist named Saleem Ullman, and we got captured on purpose so we could infiltrate his camp..." Tony kept on talking and his captors rolled their eyes and rubbed their temples.

"We should knock him out!" One of the men suggested.

"No! Boss wants him awake!"

"...and McGee was just lying on the floor while I was doing all the work..."

One of the men grabbed him by the hair and jerked his head back. "If you do not be quiet, I will cut out your tongue."

Tony grinned at him. "Ha! You're not gonna do that! You see, I heard you talking to your boss, Sergei, and I heard him tell you not to harm me. You know, you should really turn the volume down on your phone. So anyway, like I was saying, McGee was just lying on the floor while I was doing all the work..."

"My God, it's going to be a long day!" One of them said, "I hope the boss gets here soon!"

"Let's go! I can't listen to this idiot talk anymore!"

"We can't leave! Boss said to watch him!"

"We're only going into the other room. He's not going anywhere. Let's go," the other man said again.

"Hey, where you guys going? Don't you wanna hear the rest of my story? I was just getting to the good part!" Tony called after them as they left. As soon as they were gone, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally." He pulled a paper clip off off his sleeve, a habit that he'd picked up from Ziva, and quietly picked his cuffs. "Just like Arnold!" He said to himself quietly. Once his hands were free, he pulled out his trusty belt buckle knife and started cutting through the ropes. Once he was free, he tiptoed over to the door and pressed his ear against it. It sounded like they were watching tv just a few feet away. He went over to the window and started opening it, but froze when it started to squeak. "Damn it!" He held his breath and waited silently for a minute. His captors did not hear the noise over the tv. Inch by inch, Tony opened the window as quietly as he could. When it was open enough for him to slip out he did just that, then laid outside on his belly to try and figure out where he was. He needed to find somewhere that had a phone. He didn't want to just stroll down the main roads, though, because Sergei could arrive and see him. As he formulated his plan, he sighed as he heard the sound of a gun cocking behind him.

"I must say, I am impressed, Agent DiNozzo," Sergei said from behind him. "You were bound and handcuffed! Not an easy situation to escape from. Impressive indeed. Now get up, slowly."

Tony did as he was told, and turned around to see Sergei and two other men with him. They were not the same men from the house.

"What the hell do you want, Sergei?" Tony asked.

"I want Agent Gibbs to suffer, just as he's made me suffer."

"So what, you gonna kill me then? What the hell are you waiting for? Why go through all the trouble of kidnapping me and tying me up, huh? Hey! I asked you a question! What the hell are you waiting for?!" Tony screamed. He was getting tired of this.

"Oh, you are going to die, Agent DiNozzo. Believe that. But I will not be the one to kill you. You see, I am not a selfish man. I try to be a very giving person. I will let someone else take your life, someone that you have wronged in the past."

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" Tony asked angrily.

"All in good time, my friend."

**~ NCIS~**

Back at NCIS, the team was preparing Ziva for her unexpected undercover op. They fitted her with an earpiece and a tiny camera on her jacket that looked like a button. Tony had been gone all day, and it was almost time for Ziva to call Sergei. "Remember, Ziva, try to get as much information as you can without spooking him," Gibbs said as he checked the camera on her jacket. "We need him to give up Tony's location before we take him down."

Ziva placed her phone on a desk, dialed Sergei's number and put it on speaker.

"Shalom, Ziva," Sergei answered.

"Shalom, Sergei," Ziva replied. "I have just landed in DC."

"Wonderful! There is a charming little cafe in Georgetown called Stacy's. Meet me there in an hour."

Ziva sat in a chair at Stacy's Cafe in Georgetown, waiting for Sergei to arrive. After a few minutes, a black SUV pulled up, and Sergei got out. Ziva stood to greet him.

"Nice to see you again, Sergei," she lied, betraying him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Ziva. You look even more beautiful than I remember." Sergei said as they sat down.

"Before we begin, I wanted to apologize," Ziva said to him, "for when you called me. I had not seen or spoken to you in many years, and I unloaded all of my problems with NCIS on to you. It was not intentional. When you mentioned NCIS, it just sort of came pouring out."

"There is no apology necessary, Ziva. Ari was like a brother to me. That makes you family. That is what family is for."

"Sergei, what happened to your face?! The left side is all bruised!"

"Ah, yes. That is courtesy of Special Agent Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs did that to you?!" Ziva asked, feigning disgust, but cheering on the inside.

"Yes. It is a long story, to be told another day. Ziva, it angered me to hear what those pigs at NCIS did to you. People like Special Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo should be punished for what they do, but the American legal system ensures that it will never happen. Federal Agents are above the law in this country, it seems." Sergei lowered his voice to a near whisper and continued. "Sometimes we must take the law into our own hands to ensure that justice is served."

"I agree. I mean, Agent DiNozzo shot my boyfriend to death, and didn't even get a slap on the wrist!"

"We can stop this injustice, Ziva!" Sergei whispered, "We can make these Agents pay for what they have done! If you would like to be the hand of justice, I can offer you that opportunity. Agent DiNozzo should be punished for killing your boyfriend, and Agent Gibbs should be punished for killing Ari!"

"I'm listening," Ziva replied, and Sergei continued.

"I cannot say any more. It is not safe enough to speak freely here. I will pick you up in 48 hours. I have already ensured Agent DiNozzo that he will pay for the sins of his surrogate father, and himself.

"48 hours? You got my hopes up, Sergei. I was hoping it would be sooner than that."

Sergei smiled, "You were always eager, Ziva. But I made a promise to Agent Gibbs that he would watch DiNozzo suffer."

"How do I know that this is not a trick?" Ziva asked quietly. "How do I know that NCIS didn't set this up? They have always looked for every excuse to make my life hell! Prove to me that this is legitimate."

Sergei looked at her for a long moment before saying, "I can assure you, Ziva, that I would never help NCIS. Ari was my best friend and they killed him! I would sooner kill myself than help them! I told Agent Gibbs this morning that Agent DiNozzo had 72 hours to live. I'll just have to make his death sooner than that... For your sake, beautiful Ziva. I will pick you up in 24 hours and take you to DiNozzo myself. Where are you staying?"

"The Adams House," Ziva replied.

"Excellent." Sergei said, standing up and kissing her hand, "Tomorrow will be a great day indeed! And when we finish DiNozzo, Gibbs will be next."

Ziva smiled at him sweetly, "I am looking forward to it. See you in 24 hours. Shalom, dear Sergei. It was good to see you again."

**TBC...**


	9. Chapter 9

**I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 9**

Tony woke up in the chair that his captors had tied him to again. He glanced up at the clock on the wall and sighed; It had been over 36 hours since he was kidnapped. His stomach rumbled as he watched his captors finish eating. They had given him nothing to eat, only water. His wrists were raw from the handcuffs that bit into them, and they duct taped his mouth shut this time. There was an armed man now sitting in the room with him at all times. Sergei came in with a few more armed men and set a laptop down on the table in front of him.

Tony looked at him with desperate eyes, but Sergei just smiled at him. "Your suffering has only just begun, Agent DiNozzo."

Two of the armed men untied him, and removed his handcuffs briefly before stripping his shirt off and cuffing his hands in front of him. They stretched his arms over his head and fastened the cuffs to a hook on the ceiling. Tony's feet just barely touched the floor and he winced as his shoulders were stretched by his own weight. His screams were muffled by the duct tape as they began to beat him with their fists and whip him with a leather strap.

At headquarters, the team stayed in contact with Ziva from Abby's lab, who was at a room in the Adams House, waiting for Sergei to pick her up and take her to Tony. Gibbs' phone beeped with a text message from an unknown number. It was an internet link. Gibbs handed his phone to her. "Pull this up, Abbs."

Abby quickly checked the link and then pulled it up on a large monitor. A video appeared and all they could see was a wall, but they could hear muffled screams in the background. "Tony..." Gibbs said quietly.

Sergei's face suddenly filled the screen. "Hello again, Agent Gibbs. I would say 'Checkmate' but the game is far from over. Enjoy the show." With that he turned the webcam toward Tony.

Abby gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. Tony was hanging by his arms from the ceiling, getting whipped and beaten by the men in the room. "Jesus..." Fornell said quietly. Tim quickly blessed himself and started praying silently. Gibbs clenched his fist and went over to the other laptop where he had Ziva on video conference. He was glad Ziva could not see the what they were seeing.

"Get ready, Ziver. Sergei should be calling any minute."

Tim called to him from Abby's computer, where he was typing furiously. "Boss this isn't a recorded video, it's a live stream."

"Can you trace it?"

"I'm trying, Boss, but it's an anonymous server. Anyone can upload or stream anything. And Sergei knows how to cover his tracks."

At the Adams House, Ziva hung up her phone and approached the laptop. "Sergei is on his way."

Gibbs put in and earwig. "Check, check. Can you hear me Ziva?"

"You are clear, Gibbs."

"Let's go!" He said to Tim and Fornell.

They drove towards the Adams House in two cars and parked down the street. "We have to play this carefully," he said to Ziva, "I can't follow right behind you or he'll have Tony killed before you guys get there. We're five minutes behind. This man is dangerous, Ziva. Watch your six."

"Here he comes," Ziva said quietly as she watched him pull up in front of the hotel.

The team watched as she got into his car and drove away. "GPS signal is strong, Boss." Tim said as he worked on two different laptops in the passenger seat, one tracking Ziva and the other was the stream to Tony.

"How's DiNotzo?" Tobias asked from his car.

"He just passed out. They're reviving him with smelling salts."

Gibbs clenched his jaw and gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and listened as Tim gave a running account of the path that Ziva and Sergei were on. After five minutes, the engine roared to life and Gibbs followed.

Ziva made small talk with Sergei as they drove, schooling her features carefully. She wanted to kill him, but chatted with him as if he were an old friend. They finally pulled up to a small house that was nestled into the woods off of a dirt road.

"Relish this day, Ziva. Not everyone is afforded such a golden opportunity."

Ziva started to get out of the car but noticed that he did not attempt to get out our shut off the engine. "Are you not joining me?"

"I'm afraid not, beautiful Ziva. I have business to attend to elsewhere. Do not worry about anything. The men will clean up when you are finished." Two other men came out of the house and got into the back seat.

Ziva kissed his cheek, smiled sweetly at him and got out of the car. As soon as he was out of sight she began speaking quietly. "Hang back a bit, Gibbs. He's leaving, and if he sees you it will blow my cover and Tony will be killed."

"Copy that, Agent David."

She walked up and knocked on the door.

"You must be Ziva. Nice to meet you dear. I am Yuri. Come in, and we'll let the fun begin."

He led her into the back room and she was met with the greatest test of self control she had ever faced. Tony was still hanging from the ceiling. His head was hanging limply in front of him, and angry red welts and bruises covered his face and torso.

"Seems as though you have started without me," Ziva said, sounding nonchalant as she took off her jacket, and Tony jerked his head up upon hearing her voice. She gave him a quick wink when the two men weren't looking, and his head fell limply in front of him again. The men thought that he had resigned to his fate and given up, but in reality his body had gone slack with relief. His Ninja was there to rescue him.

Ziva pulled up two chairs and placed them in front of Tony. She bit her lip, smiled seductively at the two men and took them by the hand to the chairs.

"Have a seat, boys," she said in a sultry voice, "The show is about to begin."

The men grinned at each other and sat. They could not see the tired grin on Tony's face because of the duct tape, but he knew what was coming; and it didn't look good for these two.

In a matter of seconds, both men were unconscious on the floor, courtesy of the lovely and deadly Ziva David. She pulled two sets of cuffs from her purse, secured them, and spoke as she rushed over to Tony and pulled the duct tape off of his mouth. "Come get us, Gibbs and please hurry."

She stood on a chair and released Tony's wrists from the handcuffs. He fell to the floor, resting on his hands and knees.

"Tony! Are you alright, ahuvi?" Ziva asked, kneeling next to him and inspecting his injuries.

"The laptop," Tony rasped, "kill it." Ziva pulled out a pistol that was strapped to her ankle. "No, don't shoot it! Shut it down!"

Ziva picked up the computer and pulled the battery out, then rushed back over to Tony.

"I love you, Ziva. Thank you." Tony whispered.

A few minutes later, Gibbs, Fornell and McGee came in.

"McGee, track my cellphone!" Ziva said.

"Ok, why?"

"Because I 'accidentally' dropped it under the seat in Sergei's car."

**TBC...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you his so much for the reviews, follows and favorites! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 10**

Sergei Mishnev and his two henchmen pulled up to an apartment building in the city. They all went inside and Sergei turned on a computer, and brought up the live stream from the computer at the house, hoping to catch the last of Ziva's revenge. Ziva was family, after all, and Sergei was glad he could afford this opportunity to Ari's little sister.

He pulled up the link and frowned when he was met with an error message: Stream Not Found. He had specifically ordered his men to continue broadcasting.

He pulled up the recording and watched silently as his men beat Tony and then one of them walked away and came back into the room with Ziva. Sergei smiled as Ziva smiled seductively at his men and sat them down to watch. The color drained from his face, though, and his smile faded quickly as he watched Ziva easily render the men unconscious, then rush over to assist Tony. How dare she betray him! She was supposed to be HIS family! He continued watching until Ziva pulled him down and he heard her say, "Tony! Are you alright, ahuvi?"

Ahuvi. Hebrew for "my love". Sergei pounded his fist on the table and cursed loudly. He should have known it was too good to be true. She was in love with DiNozzo and working undercover for NCIS. "Just wait, Ziva. You're next, my dear." Sergei ran outside, got back into his car and drove away.

~ NCIS~

The team quickly called for reinforcement from the FBI and NCIS, and helped Tony back into his shirt and out to the car. Ziva got into the backseat of Gibbs' car with him, and Tim sat in the front seat tracking Ziva's cell. Fornell followed in the car behind them.

"We have to get Tony to the hospital, Gibbs!" Ziva called from the backseat as Gibbs slammed on the gas and peeled away from the house at dangerous speeds.

"No!" Tony replied. "I'm not dying! I'll get checked out later. Give me a gun and let's get this son of a bitch. And for God's sake, someone give me a damn protein bar! We're getting a pizza when this is over. Two pizzas. One for me and one for you guys. With sausage and extra cheese, mmmm..." Tony said, before inhaling the protein bar and bottle of water that Ziva handed to him. The food and water perked him up a bit and his pain decreased as he rode an adrenaline and testosterone induced high. This was why he turned down all those promotions; because no one else could have his back like Gibbs, Ziva and Tim did, and he could never love another team the way that he loved this one. His body was beaten and bloody, he was starving and exhausted, but his eyes shone brightly. Ziva saved him when he was on the brink of death, and now they were on their way to catch the bad guy. If you'd asked him at that moment if he liked his job, he'd have responded, "Fuck yeah!"

"McGee, where is he?" Gibbs asked as he pressed the down on the gas pedal.

"He's moving fast, Boss! Looks like he just got on the freeway, heading out of the city."

"Jethro," Tobias said, following in the car behind them, "Let's force him off at exit 53. Take him fishing."

"See, now you're thinking, Tobias!" Gibbs replied and they both pressed hard on their gas pedals and raced toward Sergei.

Finally, they spotted him on the freeway, and Tobias pressed ahead of Gibbs. "Almost at the exit, Gibbs. I got him." Fornell pulled up right alongside Sergei, and pulled hard on the steering wheel, ramming him and forcing him off of the freeway.

"Ok, Tobias?" Gibbs asked, following close behind him and Fornell spoke his reply loudly into the mic in his sleeve.

"Never better!"

"You're gonna have to hit him again, soon. I think you're insurance premiums are going up."

"That's ok, it's not my car it's the FBI's. I'll let them deal with it. Here we go!" Tobias said, and then pulled up next to Sergei again and rammed him, forcing him onto a heavily wooded back road.

Sergei pulled out a gun and started firing at Fornell. Tobias ducked his head and hit the breaks. A bullet missed his head by inches.

"Tobias!" Gibbs yelled.

"I'm ok, Gibbs! Almost there!"

"I got 'em." Gibbs said calmly, "Let's go fishing."

Gibbs pulled up until the front end of his car was right next to Sergei's rear bumper and tapped him, causing him to fishtail. Sergei struggled to stay in control of his vehicle, and Gibbs tapped him again, forcing him off of the paved road and down a dirt road. The path was narrow and the cars were now in a single file, first Sergei, then Gibbs and then Fornell. Sergei aimed his gun behind him and fired. Bullets tore through Gibbs' windshield and everybody ducked.

"Shit!" Tim hissed as one bullet grazed his cheek and another hit him in the shoulder.

"McGee!" Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva yelled as they realized he'd been hit.

"Holy shit, I just got shot." Tim said in a pained and slightly panicked voice. "Ugh... Wow, that hurts! OW OW OW! This guy is mine when we catch him! Ok," he said, taking a deep breath and calming himself to assess the situation, "Hand me the first aid kit!" Ziva passed the kit to him and Tim made fast work of stripping off his jacket and covering the wound with gauze. Ziva leaned over into the front seat and tightly tied a piece of cloth around his shoulder to secure the gauze and put pressure on the wound.

Sergei had stopped firing at them, and now kept his full attention on the winding dirt road they were on. The cars kicked up a cloud of dust, and even Sergei, at the front of the convoy, had a hard time seeing.

"Almost there, Tobias!" Gibbs shouted and Tim, Tony and Ziva all checked their weapons. Gibbs and Fornell suddenly slammed on their breaks and watched as Sergei kept going and then slammed on his breaks as well, stopping only inches from the lake that was in front of him. Gibbs and Fornell knew the area well; they fished here often, but Sergei nearly drove into the lake.

Sergei looked in his rearview mirror and saw all five agents pointing their guns at him.

"Sergei! Get out of the car and show me your hands!" Gibbs barked. He couldn't couldn't lose his cool again, couldn't let Sergei get the upper hand. Sergei had come damn close to killing him, Tim and Tony, and Gibbs knew that justice would be served, but he couldn't do it at anymore risk to his people. Sergei was cornered and armed; a dangerous combination for any man, but especially for a man like Sergei Mishnev.

Sergei got out of the car, but his back was facing the agents and he was still holding his pistol.

"Drop it, Mishnev! We will shoot you!" Tobias yelled. Sergei turned around and smiled, holding the gun down at his side.

"You know I have one bullet left in the chamber," Sergei said as he raised the gun and put it to his own head.

"Sergei, drop it!" Ziva yelled.

"Beautiful Ziva... I heard that you left Mossad and NCIS... Ari was your brother by blood! I thought of you as my family! How could you betray me?! I thought you would be the perfect person to help me get revenge on the monster that killed Ari... Our family..."

Ziva cut him off harshly, "Ari was MY family a long time ago, and this is my family now! You are NOT FAMILY! And I killed Ari! Me! Not Gibbs!"

A strange look passed over Sergei's face. His hand, that still held a gun to his own head, started to shake. "Ziva! He was your brother!" Sergei barked, "How could you kill your own brother?"

"Because he was a monster! Just like you! He needed to die... just as you need to die."

Sergei smiled at her. "Indeed, I will no doubt die today... Even if I surrender and you arrest me now, Agent Gibbs or Agent Fornell will just kill me later... but not before I take my revenge. You killed Ari! You are the monster, Ziva! So when I die... I will take you with me!"

Sergei quickly pulled the gun off of his head, pointed it at Ziva, and pulled the trigger.

TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

**Here we go! I do not own NCIS... **

**Chapter 11**

The world moved in slow motion for Sergei Mishnev as he made his final stand. His twisted grin turned into a horrified grimace as he aimed at Ziva and pulled the trigger, and the gun clicked in his hand, signaling an empty chamber. At the same moment he was thrown back against his car as five bullets hit him in the chest at once. He hit the ground, blood pooling around him and gasping for air. The team approached and surrounded him. No one offered help or a comforting word to the man who lay dying before them.

"I suppose," Sergei whispered, his eyes becoming wide and blood pouring from his mouth, "The Checkmate is yours after all, Agent Gibbs." .

"You're goddamn right." Gibbs replied, looking right into Sergei's eyes as he passed away.

The team let out a collective sigh of relief when Sergei died, and remained silent for the next few minutes. They were recovering from the shock while they secured the scene and waited for the ambulances for Tim and Tony. Fornell finally broke the ice.

"Well THANK FUCK that's over!"

Gibbs looked at him with a smirk and shook his head, while the rest of the team laughed.

Ducky and Jimmy arrived to collect Sergei's body. Director Vance sent enough agents to cover the scene, and when the ambulances arrived, Fornell agreed to drive Gibbs' car back so Gibbs could ride with Tim and Ziva could ride with Tony. They gathered up the injured and sped toward the hospital.

With the adrenaline worn off, Tim was going into shock. His face was pale and he was taking quick, shallow breaths as the paramedics cut his shirt and the old bandages off of him and began cleaning the wound. He cried out and threw his head back in agony, looking like he was ready to pass out. Gibbs stood stood next to the stretcher and placed a hand on his forehead, rubbing circles gently but vigorously. Tim groaned and tried to turn his head away. The rubbing kept him conscious, and he was praying for a few minutes of blissful relief.

"Come on, Tim, gotta stay awake for me, ok?" Gibbs said as he continued rubbing his forehead and Tim kept groaning in pain. "Yeah, I know it hurts," he said softly, "just hang in there a few more minutes. They're gonna finish cleaning that hole in your shoulder then put an IV in. As soon as we get to the hospital, we'll get you something for the pain."

Tim sucked in a deep breath and two tears slid down his cheeks as the paramedics put pressure on the wound and tried to stop the bleeding. He jerked away from them and sat up and leaned forward when the pain got too bad, and Gibbs gently but firmly guided him to lay back. He placed his hand back on Tim's forehead and then ran it through his hair a few times, trying to give him any kind of comfort he could.

"I'm sorry, Tim. Just hang in there. You're gonna be ok."

"Rule six, Boss." Tim said, hissing with pain. Gibbs just smirked at him and continued to rub his forehead.

At Bethesda, Tim went through triage, and a nurse finally pushed a few cc's of morphine into his IV. "Oh, thank you, Jesus!" Tim exclaimed as it hit him full force. He finally leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Sit tight, McGee. Gonna go see DiNozzo and I'll be back in a few." Gibbs said.

"Got it, Boss." Tim slurred as he waited to be taken to x ray and have the bullet removed.

Gibbs walked further back into the ER and saw Ziva sitting by herself, nervously chewing her thumbnail. "Ziver! Where's Tony?"

"They took him back to trauma. He started vomiting on the way to the hospital... they think it may just be a concussion, but they want to check that he does not have internal bleeding. They would not let me go back with him..."

Gibbs sighed and pulled her into a hug. "How's McGee?" She asked.

"McGee's fine. Freaked out a little in the ambulance when the adrenaline wore off, but they have him comfortable and pumped full of morphine, now. Just have to pull out the bullet and bandage him up. And Tony's gonna be just fine, too. Did you tell him that you were coming home, yet?"

"Not yet. There hasn't exactly been a good time. I will tell him tonight, when we all get to go home."

"Good. He's a lucky man, you know."

"I am a lucky woman," Ziva replied with a smile, "And speak of the devil!"

Tony arrived back in the main Emergency room on a stretcher being pushed by a nurse in her early 60's. "Thank you, Carol," Tony said sweetly, offering a tired smile.

"Take care of him. He's a good boy." She said to Ziva, before pinching Tony's cheek gently. "Be good, doll face."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and Ziva smiled as the doctor came over with news that there was no internal bleeding, just a concussion. Fornell met them at the hospital as they discharged Tony with pain meds, antibiotics and bed rest, and they all went back over to see how Tim was doing.

Tim was under a local anesthetic and pain meds as the doctors removed the bullet from his shoulder. After they stitched him up, Tim looked up at his team and gave them a sloppy grin. "Hey, guys. Thannkkksss for coming!"

"You're in rare form, McGee," Gibbs said to his youngest. "You're coming home with me."

"Aahhh... Gibbs' house..." Tim slurred. "Cowboy style steaks, black and white westerns... Take me home, Boss! No! Wait! We gotsa go... to Ducky!"

"Why do we have to see Ducky?" Gibbs asked.

"Because... I wanna sees if I took the kill shot on the bad guy!" Tim slurred.

"Yeah, that's right. I was wondering about that myself," Fornell added, "Who made the kill shot on Sergei?"

Tony grinned, "I have a feeling it was me."

Ziva scoffed, "Who is the trained assassin here, Tony? My shot took him out!" She offered a mischievous, competitive grin. Tony held onto his sore ribs as he laughed.

"Fifty bucks says that I took the kill shot," Tony replied and Ziva narrowed her eyes at him.

"You're on."

"We'll find out soon enough," Gibbs said. "Tobias, go get Emily out of that safe house. Ziver, take Tony home. I'll stay with McGee."

"On it, Boss!" Tony said, grateful to be leaving the hospital. "Shall we, Ziva?" He asked with a smile while sitting in a wheelchair. Ziva smiled lovingly at him and kissed his cheek before wheeling him out of the hospital to take him home.

**TBC..**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm glad you guys enjoyed this! I do not own NCIS...**

**Chapter 12**

Ziva drove Tony to his apartment, walked him inside, and then grabbed her purse and keys again. "You leaving already, Ziva?" Tony asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"Relax, Tony. I am going to get your prescriptions filled and get some groceries for you. I will be right back."

Tony relaxed a bit and smiled at her. "Be quick. We'll watch a movie when you get back." Ziva left the apartment and Tony sat back on the couch, holding his ribs and became lost in thought. He was terrified. Sergei was dead, so there was no longer a reason for Ziva to be here. He prayed silently that she would agree to stay, but knew his chances were slim. Twenty minutes later, he heard the door of his apartment opening. He smiled and stood up slowly to face her as her heard the door close behind her. His smile faded and a confused then sad look crossed his face.

"Zoe... what are you doing here?"

She just stood with her arms crossed and stared at him silently for a few minutes.

"Zoe..." Tony said again after a few awkward minutes of silence, "you gonna talk to me or just stand there shooting daggers at me?"

Ziva came back from grocery shopping, and was about to open Tony's door when she heard an unfamiliar female voice on the inside.

"What the hell, Tony?" Zoe finally said as Ziva froze outside the door. "I've been calling you for three days, you don't answer your phone, then I come see you and you're all bruised and beaten up! That job is gonna get you killed! Why didn't you call me?"

"I've been busy." Tony replied.

"Busy? You've never been so busy before that you couldn't call or text me!" She said to him angrily.

Tony started raising his voice. He was in no mood to argue with anyone. "I'm sorry, Zoe, but I just spent the last 36 hours being held captive and beaten by Sergei Mishnev's cronies! It's hard to get to a phone when you're tied to a chair with duct tape over your mouth! So forgive me for not calling! Like I said. I was busy."

"What the hell is your problem? I'm sorry you got captured, but you look like you're safe now! You weren't going to call me tonight?"

"No! I was going to call you tomorrow and ask you to have lunch with me so I could tell you that I don't think we should see each other anymore."

"What? Why?" Zoe asked, genuinely confused. She and Tony had been getting along well.

"Ziva is back," Tony said quietly.

"Ziva? Your old partner? Ok, so what does that have to do with me?"

"I like you, Zoe. A lot. I really do... But I love Ziva. I thought I was over her, then she came back to help with the case... I never expected this to happen."

"So what, now that Ziva is back, I just get thrown into the garbage so you can skip off happily into the sunset with her?!"

"No!" Tony yelled, "Ziva is probably leaving again! She won't let me go back to Israel with her, so that means I get to go through all of the joys of her leaving all over again! Sleepless nights, drinking the pain away, male support groups!" He sighed, lowered his voice and continued speaking. "That's not fair to you... You shouldn't have to deal with all that, watching me grieve because I'm in love with a woman I can't have."

Standing outside the apartment door, Ziva had heard enough. That's who had called Tony when they were in the bullpen the other day. She quietly made her way, back down the hall and went back to her car. She wanted to give them their privacy and would go back up after Zoe left.

"I've heard you talk about Ziva before. You never said you were in love with her." Zoe said quietly.

"Well, denial can be an ugly thing. I'm sorry, Zoe." He said, approaching her and pulling her into a hug. "I never wanted to hurt you. I really thought we could work, you and I... like I said, I never expected this. I never thought I'd see her again..."

Zoe pulled away from him enough to look him in the eyes and take his face gently in her hands. "Tony... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I came over here freaking out. It's... it's ok." She said with a sigh. "You're a good man. Any woman would be lucky to have you. And if you love her that much, then you fight for her."

"I'm trying," he whispered.

"I don't want this to be the end of us. You were a good friend before we started dating. I'd like to keep it that way. If you need anything, Tony... A hot meal or you just want to talk... you have my number. Just promise me you won't let yourself fall apart if things don't work out between you two."

"I'll try."

She smiled at him and kissed his cheek lovingly. "Don't be a stranger, Tony." Zoe left and Tony collapsed on the couch, exhausted and sore, waiting for Ziva to return.

Ziva waited I'm her car until she saw an attractive looking woman with what looked like an ATF badge on exit the building. After Zoe drove away, Ziva grabbed the grocery bags and went upstairs again, hoping that the woman she saw leave was Zoe. She didn't want to go back to Tony's with Zoe still there.

She listened outside Tony's door for a moment and when she didn't hear anything, opened the door to let herself in. Tony was leaning back on the couch with his eyes closed. She quietly put the few groceries she got for him away, and took his medicine and a bottle of water out to him. Tony opened his eyes and smiled at her as she handed him the medicine and water.

"I'm glad you're back, Ziva," he said, and Ziva sat down next to him.

"I've been back for a while, but you had company so I did not want to intrude."

"Oh God, how much did you hear?"

"Not much... and enough." Ziva said honestly. "When I realized who she was, I went back down and waited in the car so you two could have privacy. Tony, ahuvi... we need to talk. I'm so sorry..."

Tony cut her off, "No... God, I can't do this again!"

"Tony please, just listen to me."

Tony was exhausted and hungry, his body beaten and bruised. He couldn't stop the tears from rolling down his cheeks. "It's ok, Ziva. You don't have to say it! I'm sorry, Tony, I love you but I'm leaving and you can't come with me! That's it right? It's ok, I understand. You don't have to say it because I already know. So instead of me crying all night, let's just eat and watch a movie so we can have one last good memory together!"

He leaned his head back on the couch and closed his eyes, more tears seeping out. Ziva took his face in her hands and wiped away his tears. "Tony, I heard what you said to Zoe. I never meant to cause you so much pain when I left." Tony opened his eyes to look at her and she continued. "I'm so sorry, Tony. I never wanted you to suffer. I am going back to Israel, Tony..."

"I knew it," Tony interrupted her.

"Tony, listen! I'm going back to Israel to get my things. Then I am coming home."

Tony sat up straight and stared at her, unsure if he heard her correctly. "Home?"

"Yes ahuvi. Home. Home to you. After you and I spoke on the way to Stillwater, I spoke to Gibbs as well. You both helped me to realize... that I never should have left. I should have let go of the badge but stayed with my family. I love you, Tony. I could never love another man the way that I love you. We've been through so much together. NCIS, Israel, Somalia... We have had many, many ups and downs together. If we can get through all that... and and still love each other so much..."

"Ziva," Tony whispered, his lip trembling and face exhausted but his green eyes shining brightly, "You're coming home? Home to me?"

"Yes. You deserve to be happy, Tony... and... so do I." When she said that last part, a tear slid down her cheek. It was the first time she'd ever said it and believed it. She made plenty of mistakes in life, more than most people do, but realized the error of her ways and always asked for forgiveness. She did deserve to be happy.

"Oh, Ziva..." Tony whispered and pulled her in for a slow and loving kiss. After a minute he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. "You do deserve to be happy, Ninja. I'm glad you're coming home. Thank you." He whispered.

"I love you, Tony."

"Ziva?" He asked, his head still pressed against hers.

"Yes, ahuvi?"

"Can you make me something to eat or order a pizza? My stomach is starting to eat itself."

Ziva smiled and kissed him gently. "Of course."

**~ NCIS~**

A few days later, Gibbs, Tony and Tim and Bishop were sitting at their desks in the bullpen. The director had them all on desk duty until Tony and Tim were cleared by medical for field duty. The elevator door opened, and Ziva walked in with a visitor's badge clipped to her shirt.

"Hey Ziver," Gibbs said without looking up from the report he was writing. Tony and Tim smiled as she came in and Bishop jumped up from her desk.

"Ziva! It's nice to finally meet you! I'm Ellie Bishop."

"Nice to meet you, too," Ziva said, shaking her hand and smiling politely. Before any more pleasantries could be exchanged, Gibbs desk phone began to ring.

"Yeah, Gibbs. On my way, Duck." Gibbs got up and left the bullpen.

"You know what that means?" Tony asked, "Ducky calling Gibbs downstairs? It means that Sergei's autopsy report is finally done. Abby already identified who fired each bullet, no we just have to see which one took him out. Then you, my dear Ninja, will owe me fifty bucks."

In autopsy, Gibbs walked over to ducky who was sitting at his desk. "Hey, Duck."

"Hello, Jethro. I am exhausted, you know. The last few days, you have certainly kept the bodies coming. Anyway, I have completed Sergei Mishnev's autopsy report." He said, handing Gibbs the file.

"Oh yeah? Who took the kill shot?" Gibbs asked, trying to sound nonchalant about the whole thing. Ducky smiled. He could see right through his friend.

"What I can tell you," Ducky said, as he stood to put on his coat and hat, "is that any one of those bullets would have been fatal I'd they had been fired by themselves. I'll leave you to read the report. Goodnight, Jethro!"

"Goodnight, Duck," Gibbs replied before he got in the elevator with the report. He pressed the button for the bullpen, then started leafing through the report. He stopped when he got to the part he was looking for. As Gibbs read the result he smiled and allowed himself a laugh before schooling his features and getting off of the elevator in the bullpen.

"Hey Boss, how's Ducky?" Tim asked, dying to see the report but too scared to just come out and ask.

"Ducky's fine. He went home." Gibbs stood and stared at them a moment, the autopsy report still in his hand. "I guess you guys wanted to see this?"

"We were all just... a bit curious... You know, about which one of us took out Sergei." Tony replied.

"See for yourself," Gibbs said, tossing the file down on Tony's desk. Tim, Ziva and Bishop all crowded around Tony's desk to see the results and Gibbs sat at his own desk. Tony opened the file and flipped through the pages until he got to the results. They all read the results and Ziva and Bishop smiled at each other while Tony and Tim's jaws dropped in shock.

"God, that's so disappointing." Tim said quietly.

"Are you friggin' kidding me?!" Tony asked incredulously, "Inconclusive?!"

Gibbs looked up at his team and grinned at the shocked, disappointed looks on Tim and Tony's face. He shook his head, and, still smiling, went back to writing his report.

**The End :)**


End file.
